Palmer Moland pleads no contest to healthcare fraud

Yahoo

21 hours ago

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Palmer Moland on Friday pleaded no contest to three counts related to healthcare fraud, the plea bargain coming days after he was acquitted on six of eight counts related to voter fraud.
All cases against him are now resolved.
Moland, 37, a former trustee with the Fairfax School District, entered no contest pleas to fraudulently receiving healthcare benefits and altering medical records, and unlawfully obtaining public aid in an amount exceeding $950.
Judge Gloria Cannon set sentencing for July 15. She said the sentence will run concurrent with and will not exceed what Moland is sentenced to in his voter fraud case.
The maximum penalty in that case is four years and eight months in prison.
According to prosecutors, Moland began misrepresenting his health status in 2018 to become eligible for the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, which overpaid $78,012.55 for services that included laundry, cleaning, meal preparation and assistance while showering, according to prosecutors. He received IHSS assistance for four years.
In the voter fraud case, Moland was accused of using an address he didn't live at when filling out elections paperwork in 2018 and 2022 and running for governing board member of the Fairfax School District.
He was elected to the board in 2018.
At trial, Deputy Public Defender Ajaib Gill argued Moland actually did live at the address he listed on paperwork for the 2018 election. He said Moland divided his time between that address and an apartment outside the district, but the one within the district was his home address.
After that home was sold in 2021, Moland looked for another residence within the district but was unable to find one, and was 'functionally homeless,' Gill said.
Moland contacted the elections division to try to have his name removed from the ballot — he'd listed the old address on elections paperwork — but it was too late, Gill said. The ballots had already been printed.
Moland was found guilty of perjury and filing false candidacy papers in connection with the 2022 election, charges which Gill conceded. Not guilty verdicts were returned on the six remaining counts; two other charges were dismissed before trial began.
Sentencing in that case is set for July 9.
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